In
Short: Julianne Moore is inspiring as a
contest-winning mom who refuses to concede to
life’s challenges.

In
25 Words or Less:Optimism Conquers AllBy
Andrew Bender

On
the one hand, Evelyn Ryan of Defiance, Ohio has everything
one might aspire to as a 1950s homemaker: a husband whom
she calls “Dad” while he calls her “Mother;”
a busy, comfy home; white gloves to wear in public and
ten kids who never seem to be at each others’ throats.

On
the other hand, Evelyn’s life is rotten: her husband,
Kelly (Woody Harrelson) is an alcoholic prone to rages,
who pours away his meager earnings on liquor for himself
instead of milk for the kids. Meanwhile, the priest advises
her to grin and bear it…and then there are the ten
kids.

As
Evelyn, Julianne Moore grins and bears it beautifully
and effectively. Her coping mechanism is “contesting”
– entering competitions to compose advertising jingles
and slogans for cash and prizes. Turns out she’s
very good at it, winning everything from $3 to a car and
all the appliances Kelly can’t provide her with.
Her winning only exacerbates Kelly’s anger, yet
it helps Evelyn to see the positive no matter how bad
things get.

Writer/director
Jane Anderson’s use of cutaway scenes, cartoonish
effects and perky, plucky music keeps “the
Prize Winner” milkshake-frothy. Yet Anderson
doesn’t
gloss over Evelyn’s hard knocks, such as a gross-out
scene featuring a wardrobe malfunction with a diaper.
Paradoxically, at other times Anderson’s storytelling
is as cloying as a king-sized bowl of jell-o with extra
marshmallows—the most egregious example shows
Evelyn and kids merrily composing a jingle about a
sandwich while a blotto Kelly makes up his own about
how he’s a
loser.

By
21st century standards, you’d probably say that
Evelyn needs a hug or, better yet, an intervention followed
by assertiveness training. It’s exasperating to
watch her endure a marriage that these days would be considered
abusive. In the end, though, it’s worth remembering
that expectations were different then, and Evelyn’s
ability to combine sweetness, steel and nobility is, ultimately,
inspirational.